The history of Laweyan is even longer than the city of Solo itself. Back to the age of an ancient kingdom named Pajang in the 14th century, Laweyan was the center of textile business. The name itself came from the Javanese word lawe, which literally means spun cotton yarn. Traditional batik production came to Laweyan through the hands of Kyai Ageng Henis, a religion preacher who also taught batik production technique to local residents.

Entering Lalan Sidoluhur houses along both sides are mostly huge and also serve as batik showroom priced from as low as a few bucks to more than a grand. There you can also see batik production which is processed in traditional way inherited along generations. Interested to get your hands on? You can take short course of batik production process.

Further along the street is getting narrower, squeezed among soaring concrete fence of gigantic house built by rich batik merchants. Centuries ago, batik merchants were extremely wealthy and with their wealth they expressed their social status by building huge house. Passed across generations, most of those business remain in operation. Entering batik showroom here you will get an additional tour of beautiful palace that perfectly combine Javanese ancient architecture with strong influence of European, Chinese, and Islamic elements.

So infamous Candi Sukuh is, even those living in Solo or Jogja, nearest townships to the site, may not know where it is. Located in quite a remote area on the slope of Mount Lawu about 1,000 meters above the sea level, you are advised to get yourself a four-wheel-drive vehicle with more than 2.0 liters of diesel engine. If you are taking public transport, the journey is even more challenging. From Solo, take a bus to Tawangmangu at Tirtonadi Bus Terminal. Stop at Karang Pandan, a half way before the final destination. Then continue your journey with a small minivan toward Kemuning where you will have to further by hiring an “ojek”, motorbike taxi.

The whole complex of Candi Sukuh sits on a terraced piece of land. The main gate located at the front side is decorated with carved reliefs. Up at the second terrace you can find reliefs with completely naked humans. Something a bit unusual especially knowing that it is something forbidden in eastern cultural customs. Even more unusual as temple is obviously a religious site. There are also a formation of “lingga” and “yoni”, representation of male and female genitals.

Approaching the main temple on the third terrace there is a stone tower erects on a stone stage. Again, the stage presents erotic reliefs. On one side of the tower is a relief believed to be woman’s uterus with a couple of human beings inside, each represents good and evil. Right in front of the main temple is a “perwara” along with a headless figure of Gupala.

Another interesting aspect of Candi Sukuh is its unique architectural style compared to other similar sites found in the region. Whilst most others were built in a form that symbolize Mount Meru, Candi Sukuh has simple trapezoidal form. Known to be built back in the 15th century before the fall of Majapahit Kingdom, Candi Sukuh shares similar form to Mayan pyramid in Central America.

Is there any connections in between? Among various theories says that Candi Sukuh was built when the glory of Hindu started to fade away in Java and therefore the concept returned back to the megalithic age before arrival of Hindu. Another theory says that Candi Sukuh built as a part of exploration of “tirta amerta”, water of life, as described in Indian Mahabharata manuscript. According to this particular theory, Candi Sukuh was built in the form of Mount Mandaragiri, but the topmost tip was taken as a tool to search for the water of life.

Despite of the mysteries that remains unsolved, a visit to Candi Sukuh gives both refreshing mountain atmosphere as well as exploration of the remains of the last ancient temple built in Java.